My husband and I have 3 days in Florence in March. Can anyone give me an idea of how much time to allow for any of the biggies: Accademia, Uffizi, and Duomo? What else shouldn't we miss?
We are in our 50s and in decent shape if that has any bearing on the advice.
The other cathedral, Santa Croce, is much more spectacular than the Duomo on the inside -- do NOT miss it. If you want a free tour, I highly recommend you contact Dan - he is amazing - he is American, but lives in Florence and volunteers at Santa Croce = his tour is so good. The leather school is also located behind Santa Croce - a great place to buy great, authentic leather.
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Email him and see if he has availability for a tour
I recommend a guide for all the places you mentioned - you will learn SO much more.
If you don't have Rick's Italy or Florence guidebooks ( I'd recommend you get one), then spend some time reading through the Florence section of the Explore Europe subforum: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/florence
Especially the At A Glance and Plan (for his suggested itinerary) pages
There are many churches with frescoes and/or statues by so many great artists whose works you will also see in the Academia and Uffizi.
And more.
A feast!
Allow 30m for Accademia and 2h for the Uffizi. There are two Duomo’s: the cathedral and the museum. The cathedral is a disappointment but do visit the Duomo Museum.
I never visit more than two museums per day. One in the morning and the other in the afternoon. I’m assuming three days is four nights, correct?
I agree that there are several churches more interesting than the Duomo BUT if you are up to it don't miss climbing the dome -- it is memorable.
I like to vary the short visit. In addition to Uffizi which I would give at least 3 hours and Academia, you might consider Palazzo Davanzati a restored Renaissance home. https://bargellomusei.it/en/museum/palazzo-davanzati/
A must IMHO is Musee San Marco, the monastery where Savanarola held sway before being burned in the piazza Signoria (there is a marker where it was done). This is also where the Bonfire of the Vanities was held. San Marco is only open mornings and the monk's cells were each provided with a fresco for meditation painted by Fra Angelico and his colleagues. The famous Fra Angelico annunciation is in this monastery.
Another must see is the Brancacci Chapel at Santa Maria del Carmine in Oltrarno. It is where Renaissance art begins with Masaccio's painting. The visit is just 15 minutes as the chapel is small but well worth the trip. There are lots of places to eat in Oltrarno so perhaps book it before lunch.
there are many wonderful churches and lots of excellent museums but in only 3 days our strategy would be to do very different things hence rather than the Pitti Palace museums, do Santa Croce, Palazzo Davanzati, San Marco etc -- for a varied experience.
What else shouldn't be missed? Boy, that's a tough one! Florence is simply overflowing with artistic and architectural treasures, if you enjoy those sorts of things. I'd add my votes to the mention above of her churches as most don't take enormous amounts of time or $ to explore but payoff in spades.
I am hoping you have 3 full days and not a partial arrival + 2 full days? That will have some bearing on how much ground can be covered.
Santa Maria del Fiore: I'll agree that the cathedral's exterior is more impressive than the interior, and photographs particularly well at night. I'd skip the interior in favor of the museum. The baptistry - which is older than the above-ground structure of the duomo - has a stunning mosaic ceiling which is currently under restoration so I'd skip this too. The originals of its 3 sets of bronze entry doors, now in the duomo's museum, were replaced by copies.
Churches: a few I'd try and do, and why:
Basilica di San Miniato; a very old, very interesting church on one of the highest points in the city. Just the view of Florence from up there + a wander through the attached cemetery is a plus! Free.
Basilica di Santa Croce: tombs of and artworks by/of some of Florence's creative who's-whos, and glorious windows. Modest ticket price. (Minor note, it's a basilica and not a cathedral.)
Basilica della Santissima Annunziata: A personal favorite for the wonderful frescoes in the unusual entry cloister, and for the piazza of the same name it's located on (Piazza SS. Annunziata.). Look down one end of the piazza to a interesting view of the duomo's dome. Free.
Basilica di Santa Trinita: The Sassitti Chapel in this church was beautifully frescoed by Ghirlandaio with some images of 15th-century Florence, the family who financed the chapel, and some important members of the city's society, including Lorenzo de' Medici and his sons. These are 'warts and all' portraits of how they really looked, right down to fashions of the era. Free.
Basilica di Santa Maria Novella: another old and important church showcasing works by Giotto, Daddi, della Robbia, Vasari, Ghiberti and others on the who's who list of esteemed artists. Modest ticket fee.
Just a start:
If at ALL possible I'll add Museo San Marco, which is very near the Accademia and Basilica della Santissima Annunziata. This was once a Dominican convent and home to Fra Angelico, the notorious Savanarola, and (for a time) Fra Bartolomeo. Fra Angelico's gentle palette adorns many of the monks' former cells, the cloister and some other areas with Biblical scenes, and his famous " Annunciation" is frescoed on the wall at the top of stairs to the dormitory as a reminder to the brothers to remember their prayers. You can visit Savonarola's cells and Fra Bartolomeo's portrait of the fiery friar, and one that Cosimo di Medici, who paid for the reconstruction of the building, had set set aside for his own spiritual practices. This museum was near the top of our favorites. Modest entry fee.
Bargello: another good museum in the oldest public structure in the city (1255).
https://bargellomusei.it/en/museum/museo-nazionale-del-bargello/
See this website for hours more hours and ticket prices (where applicable) for the city's museums, churches and other points of interest. Choose "Firenze" under the search dropdown for "City", and "Centro Storico" under "District of Florence" to drill down to those within the area you're most likely to be exploring.
https://www.feelflorence.it/en
